Chapter 701

Chapter 701: [Bonus chapter] AN ATTEMPT OF PERSUASION

Cayenne was taking out one shirt after another to mix and match them according to her fashion taste. She learned so much from Stefan and Jillyanna when it comes to fashion and what they should wear for what occasion. At the same time, she preferred to be normal on some days like trips or dates. She wanted to be herself – not someone being restricted by proper dress codes.

Seeing the items on the bed, she chose the clothes that she wanted to bring and she made sure that her clothes will be matched with his. It would be troublesome if Stefan sulks because of this issue. To others, this could be a trivial matter but to Stefan, a matching outfit means a lot to him.

“It’s been three hours since he left. I wonder if he’s doing okay. Dad said that the problem has been stabilized but Stefan didn’t even call me. I couldn’t reach Tristan, too.”

Cayenne sat on the bed with Stefan’s shirt in hand. Lifting it up, she buried her face in it and inhaled deeply. She really wished he would just stay beside her.

Even with the promise of going on a trip with him, she couldn’t feel at ease because of his company problem. She felt so guilty that she couldn’t be of any help. She didn’t want to be on the receiving end of his love and care. She also wanted to reciprocate it. But time and time again, she felt she hasn’t done anything worthy.

“Damn these insecurities!” She whispered angrily as she crumpled the shirt she was holding.

***

.....

Stefan finally settled everything in the kitchen of the new house and he made sure that someone would look after the house to clean it while they haven’t moved in yet. The guest rooms were being decorated nicely by the interior designer as well. In a month or less, it will be finally completed, and by the time of their wedding, they could move into this new home, build their own family and spend their lives here.

Stefan was excited with these thoughts in mind. He never expected that he’d finally think of having children with her when he kept on refusing her in the past months.

On his way home, he practiced his facial expression to make sure that he won’t appear cheerful and enthusiastic in front of her. After all, he was supposed to have come home from a stressful business issue.

Stefan watched Cayenne’s house as they got closer to it and he marveled at how much time has passed with them staying in this place. He could still remember the first time he visited this place and begged her to come back to him. He kneeled on her floor, at the bottom of the staircase, hoping that she would forgive him.

Thinking back to the past, Stefan has never been so thankful for getting sick except for that day when he caught a fever. Cayenne took care of him and even though it was not easy getting back inside her heart, he eventually made it and that’s what brought him to this point.

The house was a gift from Reuben Montefalco. It was a humble abode for her to mend her broken heart. They may have good memories in this house but Stefan won’t ever forget that it started with lies and heartbreak. Now, he wanted to start anew with her.

“Soon. Very soon.” Stefan muttered as he got out of the car and walked to the house where his wife was waiting for him.

The light in the living room was still turned on and on the couch in front of the large TV screen, Cayenne was curled up while wearing his big shirt. Her eyes were closed as she fell asleep and she was hugging a small picture frame close to her chest.

Stefan took the frame first and smiled as he looked into their photo together. It was the one that Valkyrie took during their first date in an amusement park. She was hugging a big teddy and her smile was a little bit awkward back then. Remembering that day, Stefan sighed regretfully. He could still recall that he was trying to make her fall for him that time and then dumped her right after. If he could go back in time, he’d love to appear right in front of him over a year ago and punch his face really hard.

[Enough with this. I know I can’t change the past but I can still make her happy now and in the future. Let’s focus on that.] Stefan told himself as he put the frame back on its respective spot. Turning off the TV which was a little useless at this point, Stefan turned to his wife and carefully lifted her.

Sensing his presence, Cayenne wrapped her arms around his neck and moved closer to bury her face in the crook of his neck and shoulder. “Hmm.” She purred like a car which brought a smile to Stefan’s lips. If he could, he would just stay like this forever with her.

“Let’s go to sleep,” Stefan whispered and carried her off to their bedroom. Not able to resist anymore, Stefan kissed the top of her head before he opened the door. She smelled of vanilla and chocolate which was the scent of her soap and it made him want to devour her even more.

[She smells like this every day and I still couldn’t get enough of her. Shall I use the same soap so I can smell her wherever I go? That sounds perverted.]

And because she was sleeping deeply, Stefan was forced to take care of himself under the cold shower. Whenever he causes her to be stressed out, his long fingers and big hands will accompany him until the job is done just like tonight.

“Ayen,” Stefan whispered in a moan as he gritted his teeth and released his hot white cream on the wall and the floor. His hands felt tired but it wasn’t enough for him. He wanted more. “Let’s wait for tomorrow.” He chanted as if it could help him calm the raging monster between his legs.

The next morning, Cayenne was jolted awake and the first thing she did was to find Stefan because he was not on the bed with her. Though, she was sure that he came home last night.

Running out of the room with her robe tied carefully, she went to the study room only to find it empty. He wasn’t in the living room either and there was no one in the kitchen.

“Lucia? Daisy?”

“Yes, Ms. Yen?” Daisy answered from the connecting door of the kitchen to the backyard. “Do you need something?”

“Where’s Stefan?”

“Ah! He’s picking fresh vegetables to cook for you. Also, there’s a mail for you. I left it on the coffee table in the living room.”

“Got it. I’ll check on it later.” She didn’t care about the mail because right now, what was important to her was to him in the morning and check that he was doing fine. She promised to wait for him yesterday but then, she fell asleep. Her guilt was tripping her again.

“Morning, love.” Stefan greeted her the moment he saw her step out of the kitchen door to the garden. “Why are you here? Do you need something?”

“I just want to see you.”

Daisy who was watching them on the sideline couldn’t stop herself from blushing. She was already at the age wherein people experience falling in love and dating someone. Of course, she knew that the couple in front of her was just expressing their affection. Still, it was a little too much for who was single at the moment.

“Sir Stefan, I will bring this basket inside now. Miss Yen, do you want a cup of warm milk?”

“Yes, please. Thank you.”

“On it.” Daisy hurried out and left the couple on their own. She didn’t want to be fed on the ants because of the sweetness from the couple. [They always see each other but they still have the same affection like they are meeting for the first time.]

Back to Cayenne and Stefan, the two of them stood in the middle of the vegetable garden and none of them noticed that Jonas was still there, hidden behind the tall eggplants. To give them privacy, he left without making any noise.

“A year ago, you were standing here. You were painting something so beautiful yet the image felt so heart-breaking. I wanted to change those hues of colors on your color palette. I wanted to make it brighter like how you brought the sunshine and rainbow into my life.”

Cayenne narrowed her eyes at him because it was very rare for him to talk about what happened last year. He always avoided this topic and hated it when someone opens up a subject related to divorce and a broken marriage. Yet now, he was opening up to her and recalling the painful memories.

“You sound suspicious. What’s going on with you?” Cayenne inquired as she walked on the plot aisle between the tomatoes and cabbages. “It’s very unlike you to open up this thing. You always avoided this topic and we already agreed that we won’t talk about this.”

“Ayen, I know that I was a scumbag. I know that I hurt you. I won’t avoid this matter anymore. I know I caused you so much pain. So, I decided that to bury this matter completely and start anew, it would be great if we would move out and find a place for our family.”

“You want to buy another house? Don’t forget that this is a gift from my father. Also, you have a villa in City A. You have a huge mansion in Tuscany. You also have several properties in other countries. And you are telling me that we should buy a new house? What for? We could just choose one of those places to live. We don’t need to move out.”

“And what if I really want to?”

Cayenne chuckled and knocked his forehead. “Why are you being willful? We will only waste our money. There’s just the two of us. We don’t need another house.”

“I don’t want a house from my inheritance. I want a home that I specially designed for you. I want something that comes from my hard work and not from someone else. Those other properties, we can sell them off or give them to our children in the future.”

“Children?!” Her eyes lit up from this word which was the only thing that registered after everything that he said. “Really? You thought about it already? When are we going to start making one?” She looked so eager in front of him which caused Stefan to bend over in laughter. “What? Why are you laughing?”

“Nothing,” he said as he wiped off tears from the corner of his eyes. “You look so adorable when you talk about having children but whenever we make one, you always ask me to stop because it’s too much. You should know that I can get really wild in bed.”

Cayenne blushed and turned around to hide her face. “Huh! As if I asked you that. I don’t recall a moment that I asked you to stop.”

“Heh! You said it yourself.” Stefan walked closer and leaned to whisper. “We can start tonight on our trip. I’ll be sure to record your voice and listen to it afterward.”

“Pervert!” Cayenne gritted and stomped on his foot. “How could you be so shameless?”

“That’s what you get for loving me.”